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National Rural Roads Development Agency

Annexure 5.4

Annexure 5.4 (See para 5.7) PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY) GUIDELINES ON USE OF LOCAL MATERIALS
1. Use of Better Granular Soil Well-graded soils with low plasticity index values have better engineering properties and should be reserved for use as improved subgrade/ sub-base or surfacing in the case of earth roads. Such soils can be identified by their high Proctor density and low PI values. 2. Stabilisation of Local Soils A variety of techniques are available for stabilising local soils for improving their engineering properties, but not all the techniques are applicable to all types of soils. A brief description of the stabilisation mechanism and applicability of the individual techniques are given in Table 1. This may be referred to for choosing the most appropriate technique for stabilising the soil at site. The mix proportions are generally worked out in the laboratory based on soaked CBR value.

Table 1 Mechanism and Requirements of Soil Stabilisation Techniques

Sl. No. 1. Technique Mechanical stabilisation Mechanism Application Blending missing fractions (e.g., Sands, moorum/ gravel having clay with sand and sand with missing fractions and clayey clay) so as to produce a mass of soils can be stabilised by this maximum possible density with technique. plasticity within limits. A smooth grading similar to that given by Fullers grading rule* is adopted to work out the proportion of the missing fractions to be blended. Lime in hydrated form reacts Medium and heavy clays having with the clay minerals in the soil a PI of at least 10 and containing to cause (i) immediate reduction at least 15% of materials finer in plasticity and increase in CBR than 425 micron are suitable. because of cationic exchange, However, some soils though flocculation and agglomeration, containing clay fractions may which may be reversible under not produce the long-term certain conditions, and (ii) long chemical reaction because of term chemical reaction with the the presence of organic matter clay minerals to produce (> 2%), or soluble cementitious products which sulphate/carbonate (> 0.2%) etc. bind the soil for increased For lime stabilisation to be strength and stability. successful, it will be desirable to test the soil for lime reactivity. A soil whose 7-day unconfined compression strength increases by at least 3 kg/cm2 with lime treatment can be considered
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2.

Lime stabilisation

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Annexure 5.4

3.

Cement stabilisation

4.

Lime-flyash stabilisation

lime reactive. The hydrated products of cement Generally, granular soils free of binds the soil particles, the high concentration of organic strength developed depending on matter 2% deleterious salts the concentration of cement and (sulphate and carbonate <0.2%) the intimacy with which the soil are suitable. A useful rule for soil particles are mixed with cement. selection is that the plasticity A high cement content of the modulus (product of PI and order of 7-10% can produce a fraction passing 425 micron hard mass having a 7-day sieve) should be less than 250 compressive strength of 20 and that the uniformity kg/cm2 or more, and this usually coefficient should be greater goes by the term soil-cement. than 5. However, a smaller proportion of 2-3% cement can improve the CBR value to more than 25, and the material going by the term cement-modified soil can be advantageously used as subbase/base for rural roads. Lime chemically reacts with the Soils of medium plasticity (PI 5silica and aluminium in flyash to 20) and clayey soils not reactive form cementitious compounds, to lime can be stabilised with which bind the soil. lime and flyash.

* Fullers grading rule is given by :

3. Use of Naturally Occurring Low-grade Marginal Materials Low grade marginal materials like moorum, kankar, dhandla, laterite etc where available within economic leads, should be made use of in pavement construction to the maximum extent feasible. The material may occur in a graded form or as discrete blocks or admixtured with soil. Water Bound Macadam (WBM) is one of the most common specifications being adopted for construction of sub-base, base and surfacing courses. Broken stone, crushed slag, overburnt brick metal, laterite or kankar of acceptable quality can be used as the coarse aggregate for WBM. The manner of using these is indicated in Table 2.

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4. Use of Bricks and Overburnt Brick Metal In alluvial plains where hard stone aggregates are normally not available within economical leads, the general specification adopted for sub-base and base courses is to provide brick soling. Either flat bricks or bricks on edge or broken brick ballast can be used depending on the thickness requirements. The bricks should be of good quality and well burnt. Before laying flat bricks or brick-on-edge, it is desirable to provide a cushion of sand above the earth subgrade. 5. Other Waste Materials Many other waste materials like quarry waste, marble slurry dust, other metallic slags are available in many parts of the country. Laboratory and field studies conducted on some of these materials have indicated that such materials can be utilised for construction of lower layers of pavement and/ or embankment. However, before embarking on use of such materials, detailed characterisation and design of mix through a reputed laboratory would be needed.

Operations Manual for Rural Roads

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